Cosette's Nerves
by Miss Pontmercy
Summary: Editted for more content! What Cosette and Marius were thinking about the night before their wedding. A Marius/Cosette romance fic, before there aren't enough M/C pairings out there! I would really appreciate it if people would review! No Cosette haters!
1. Cosette

Cosette awoke for the fourth time that night and groaned. She twisted on her little bed and spread out diagonally across it, reaching for the small clock on her nightstand. But then she stopped and mused: this was the last night she could do this without kicking Marius in the leg. She shook her head slightly and grabbed the clock. By the light of her little fireplace in her room, she saw that it was a few minutes after 3 o'clock in the morning.

With a jolt, she realized that in twenty-four hours, she would be Madame Pontmercy. They would be married. The ceremony, dinner, and party would all be over. She blushed and realized that at 3 o'clock the next morning, she would not be a virgin anymore.

Now, Cosette didn't know exactly what that entailed. She only knew that the Blessed Mother had been a virgin, and it was always described as a good thing. Did that mean what she and Marius were about to do was wrong? No, it couldn't, weren't married people expected to do that? She knew very little about what she was expected to do, but she knew this was the way people made children, and that was why they were supposed to do it. So how was that bad? This was so hard! Someone should have taught her about this, just to take the nerves off. Then she thought of her father sitting on the edge of her bed stuttering over what she was expected to do on her wedding-night. _Oh! That would be horrible,_ she thought, and giggled in embarrassment to herself. For the thousandth time in her life she wished for a mother.

She had to admit that some of it she was looking forward to: she and Marius had scarcely since his visits to the garden in the rue plumet, and it had been over eight months! To add to that, she had been different last spring. Younger, and much more naive, never imagining that their time together would come to an end, not knowing anything about the state of Paris. Now she knew better. Marius' encounter with death was long, terrifying and cruel. It seemed that Death was smiling about Marius and holding his cold fingers about his neck, unyeilding. But finally the time had passed, and it seemed that she hadn't breathed at all until it had. But the experience had roughened her up and shown her things she had never wanted to see again. She had persisted in making her father tell her all about how her country was organized, if only for the purpose of being able to understand Marius when she saw him again and argue with him if he mentioned anything about fighting again. After all this, she knew much of her naivete had gone away.

She valued her time with him, and not craved him in a different way than she had ever done in the garden all those months ago. They were children back then, sitting together and delighting in each others presence. Two children playing at being in love, not knowing that they could hurt themselves with it. But now they both knew better, and she knew their time together in the coming night would be even more special than their hours in the garden.

Despite her gradual growth into a woman, Cosette was not treated as one yet, unless you count her father telling her about France. She knew nothing more about men than any other seventeen-year-old girl. Maybe even less, for she had never been allowed out. But she _did_ know Marius, and she trusted that he would help her. Furthermore, she blushed thinking it, but she could guess that he knew little more about women than she knew about men.

Still, they were never left alone. They were betrothed, but they always had a chaperon. To be more specific, _she _always had a chaperon. They hadn't ever been "up to anything" in her garden, but she couldn't deny how much she missed being able to talk to him freely, and occasionally falling into his arms. And, though they had only kissed twice, Cosette missed that, too. But without having been told, she knew she would have to take her clothes off tomorrow night (they didn't tell young girls _anything, _but she wasn't an idiot… she could guess most of it) and that embarrassed her terribly. Even alone, she felt her neck getting hot and knew her whole head must be bright red.

This is what she wanted; marrying Marius is truly a dream come true. And she knew that by tomorrow she would probably laugh about how nervous she was. But now, she could only think about the things the girls at the convent had told her. They said that it was always supposed to be terribly painful, and then men would become pushy and lusty, forcing you to do things you didn't want. They had said that some men drank lots before coming to bed, and were even worse because of the wine. Her heart started going faster as she saw horrible scenes in her mind, ones in which Marius looked at her and found her ugly and didn't want to touch her, or worse ones where he became cruel, coming at her too fast and hurting her.

Cosette shook her head, ashamed that she even thought that. She knew Marius too well to think something like that: he would never do that! And Cosette even let out a satisfied laugh, thinking about the girls at the convent. What did _they_ know? They were all studying to be nuns! Cosette was about to get married. Wouldn't she know a little bit more about this than them? Most of those girls had never even _met _a man, aside from their fathers and the Fathers.

Still… though she was feeling better, she couldn't go back to sleep. She replayed the scene from earlier that day in her mind. Today had been the first time they were alone at all since before the barricade, and it was only for about four minutes. Still, it counted…

She and her father were on their way out, and Marius was walking them to their fiacre. Suddenly her father stopped and remembered he left his gloves inside the house.

"I'll be _right back." _He said, giving Marius a stern look.

Once he was gone, Cosette reached for Marius' hand.

"No one trusts me with you, Cosette… it's like they think I'm going to kidnap you! We're getting married _tomorrow._ What could I possibly do to you?" She giggled. "Have you realized that this is the first time we've been alone since last spring?"

"I was thinking about that yesterday, actually. I've missed it," she said, and Marius kissed her fingers.

"But it's alright… after tomorrow evening we can be alone _whenever we want. _To think! How lucky I am! To have you all to myself!" he said melodramatically.

"Think about how far we've come to gawking at each other in the Luxembourg," Cosette whispered. "We're to be married tomorrow!"

Marius smiled and wrapped her in his arms for the first time in months. He heard Cosette sigh; he knew her well enough to know that it was a sigh of extreme satisfaction.

"Of course," she spoke into his shoulder, "I won't see you until five o'clock. That's an eternity!"

He agreed, but didn't admit it. "Well, tomorrow night we'll really be together."

She looked up into his eyes and they both blushed as the same thought came into their minds.

A minute later her father came out of the house and they broke apart very quickly. The three of the exchanged a few generic words about the wedding the next day, and then Cosette and her father were on their way. That was the last time she had seen him. She had gone home and jittery ate with her father, who was very quiet. Being with her father hadn't helped. She usually never ran out of things to say to him, but tonight he was silent, and they were both wrapped up in their thoughts. Cosette was too anxious to observe his melancholy demeanor. His silence only made her more nervous. She recalled that the only time she hadn't felt nervous about getting married was earlier, with Marius.

She did recall how good it felt to be pressed up against him, and how much she had wanted to kiss him. She sighed and wondered what Marius was doing right now; she hoped he was asleep, dreaming sweetly, but she knew him better. He was probably over thinking everything, just like her, and lying awake. She laughed quietly, and then started getting scared again. What if she was so tired from not getting any sleep tonight that she fell asleep as soon as she hit the bed? _Of course I'm not going to do that… I scarcely slept at all last spring and I had enough energy to make it through the day!_

But the next night she would sleep in Marius' arms, and that made all her worries seem petty. Even if what happened tomorrow night was embarassing and awkward, surely everything else that came with marrying him would make it all worth it. Or so she hoped!

After awhile, her nervous thoughts put her to sleep.


	2. Marius

Marius was panicking. He couldn't sleep. Was that normal? And he was so damn nervous. That _certainly _wasn't normal… right? As a man the night before his wedding, wasn't he supposed to be _excited_ about his wedding night?

Well, alright, he was definitely excited. But he was worrying about it so much that he was beginning to wonder if he really _was _a man, and not some old lady.

But to be honest, he wasn't worried about himself. As a young man growing up, he knew basically everything that went on between a man and a woman; there couldn't me many surprises. Marius cringed as he thought about what had happened right before he went to bed.

His grandfather had sent Aunt Gillenormond out of the room, and leaned back on the couch.

"Now Marius," he began, giving his grandson a very meaningful look. "You're young, but a smart young man. Smarter than your years, definitely, but that is not all that must be taken into consideration. Oh, no! See Marius, there is a whole world that you are definitely quite a youngster in. It doesn't take a genius to see that you are, uh, _inexperienced, _and I just want to-"

_Oh, Lord, _Marius thought. _Is he really going to talk to me about this?! _His face turned bright red, and his grandfather chuckled.

"See what I mean?" he chuckled again. "Now, I am sure you know all about_ the essentials, _but that's not what I want to talk to you about. I want to address the _details. _You see, Marius women are very different than men, and I just want you to know that there are many different ways of giving them _pleasure-"_

"No, no, no, no, NO!" Marius jumped up from his seat unable take anymore.

"Marius, you have to know this!"

"I think I can get by!" he cried, wanting nothing more than to disappear.

"Well, if you are too immature to talk about this, it's not _my _fault. But mark my words, she won't know _anything. _A girl who grew up in the convent with an old man? Ho! Trust me, you won't have understood the term 'blushing bride' until-"

"Stop! I said I can get by!" Marius didn't want to yell, but bringing Cosette into this already awkward discussion with his grandfather was the last thing he wanted to experience. He took a deep breath. "Err, thank you for… trying to help out. But I think I'll be alright. I don't really want to talk about this. But thank you for your concern." He nodded to his grandfather and tried to leave the room as quickly as he could, but not fast enough to miss his grandfather mutter "virgins!" under his breath.

Now, away from the terrible awkwardness, he was worrying about Cosette. If she knew nothing, he didn't see how he would be able to explain it to her. But then he shook his head… she had to know a little. She wasn't stupid; he himself had guessed most of what happened when he was ten. Surely Cosette had done that, too? At least a little, he was sure. He thought about how whenever they touched each other it came so naturally.

That wasn't his main source of worry, though: he had heard from Courfeyrac that woman were far more nervous about making love than men were. If that was the case, judging by his own nerves, Cosette would be in agony right now. But he had to admit, being in love changed things. He knew that she trusted him, and he knew that _she _knew that he loved her; really, she had no reason to be nervous! Cosette was beautiful, Cosette was more confident than he was, and well… _She _wasn't the one with a horrible scar over her shoulder, or the one who was permanently thin from years of hunger and poverty!

But then he remembered something Courfeyrac had said.

"It hurts them, the first time, you know. Women? Sometimes they even bleed!"

"_Bleed?!" _Marius had asked. This was right after he and Courfeyrac met, and Marius had been shocked to learn that people his age had actually done_ 'that'._ Marius still cringed thinking about the amount of women Courfeyrac had bedded, very few of whom Marius had found particularly attractive.

"Yes, not a lot, just a little. But imagine… it would hurt, you know?"

Marius didn't understand, but after years of being friends with him, Marius picked up a few more details. Now he understood why it would hurt, and he was worried.

He had never seen Cosette in physical pain. He couldn't see how he could bear it, especially knowing that it was his fault. But knowing Cosette, she would pretend that nothing was wrong in order to keep from hurting his feelings. That wasn't going to help, either.

"Ugh!" he sighed and rolled over in bed, putting the pillow back over his head. He decided to only think about positives. And, well, there were certainly a lot of them.

_Well, after tomorrow, no one can take her away from me… she'll be mine. _Though Marius never admitted it to anyone, he was very possessive of Cosette. It seemed to come from having dealt with losing her so many times; he was euphoric at the idea that, come tomorrow, it would be up to him and Cosette to decide the fate of their relationship. Not anyone else. And he knew that he would never choose to be apart from her.

_I can finally hold her in my arms and kiss her, without fear or being discovered or someone telling me I'm doing something wrong._ He smiled at the thought of that, and he was sure Cosette felt the same way.

_I can see how beautiful she is, without all those layers of clothing, and feel her warm skin next to mine…and kiss her lips, her chin, her neck, her shoulders, her stomach… No! stop thinking about her like that. _He was so frustrated. _Why? _He was now arguing with himself. _I _love_ her. And she loves me. So why shouldn't I want to make love to her?_

The fact was, he did. He did very badly. But he had made a habit of banishing any kind of sensual thoughts from his mind, and it wasn't easy to break. But that didn't stop the flood of anxious thoughts crowding his brain. He groaned. _You don't know. Maybe she's not nervous at all. Maybe you're overreacting, and she's going to laugh at you for not being confident enough._

But he also knew that wasn't true. Or did he? Marius didn't know what to think. _As usual, Marius, you've taken a relatively simple situation and made it complicated, _he told himself. _Stop over thinking! _

He was beginning to think that this whole wedding-night thing might be more trouble than it was worth… and then he snapped out of it. _Marius, have you gone _crazy? He asked himself, now seriously considering his insanity.

To calm his nerves, he thought of Cosette. Of course that didn't work: his nerves were now even more knotted up than before. _Damn customs! _He thought, dreading going practically the whole day tomorrow without seeing her. Then he thought that the expectations on him were much too high. _After going all day without seeing Cosette, and then seeing her walk slowly down the aisle, people expect me to just stand there and wait? _He knew himself too well; he knew he would have to stop himself from running up to her and lifting her up in his arms. _Marius, that happens every day when she comes to the house. You should be able to deal with it by now._

So try as he might, Marius didn't get a wink of sleep. He woke in the morning with nerves as frazzled as ever, and avoided his grandfather as much as he could. But when the clock struck, signaling that it was time to leave for the church, Marius' heart flipped. _Here we go, _he thought.


	3. The Wedding

Cosette arrived at the church and was waiting with her father and soon-to-be grandfather. They had arrived about forty minutes early; they had planned only to be twenty, but Cosette wanted to make sure she was not late. Jean Valjean wanted to point out that they couldn't exactly start the wedding without her, and so they did not have to leave this early, but he held his tongue. She was obviously nervous enough.

She was fidgeting around with the ribbons sewn into her bodice, talking a little too fast, laughing a little too loud, and repeating the same things multiple times. It was charming. Valjean knew his 'daughter' very well, and he knew that she would relax soon enough. He took a deep breath in and out, and thought to himself, _she'll relax once she sees Marius._ Just watching her like this made him sad. He did not want to be- he was very glad for her, and all he had ever wanted out of his life was to make her happy. But he could not shake the sadness he felt when he thought about losing her. For the longest time it had just been the two of them, before _He_ stepped into the picture. Now that Jean Valjean knew Marius, he tried very hard not to resent him, but it was hard.

* * *

Marius was pacing back and forth from the little room off the side of the church. Ordinarily, he would have a best man. Courfeyrac would have been back here with him, probably making a joke about how nervous Marius was. But Courfeyrac was dead, and so he was alone. _Don't think about that now,_ Marius told himself. But what else could he think about? He felt almost ill when he thought about Cosette; thinking about her when they were apart made him miss her more.

After a few minutes an alter boy came into the little room.

"The ceremony is about to start, monsieur."

Marius froze, and then shook his head, trying to clear it. "Thank you," he stumbled out, and walked toward the door. As soon as he opened it into the church, he had an intense change of attitude. His nerves went away, and he became proud, standing erect with his head held high and his shoulders back. He knew that everyone in the room was looking at him, and that in a few minutes everyone would be envying him. For once he enjoyed the attention. Now, his heart was beating fast and he was just as anxious, but he was only anxious to see Cosette.

* * *

"Cosette, it's time to line up," grandfather told her. She nodded and nervously took her place next to him, with Jean Valjean standing behind. She took in a deep breath and took the older man's arm. The music started playing and her heart skipped a beat. Someone behind the doors opened them for her and looked at the floor before grandfather urged her onward. She looked up and saw Marius through her veil, and her nerves went away. From fifty feet away, he was smiling at her and looking at her with love in his eyes. She couldn't see the flowers, the stained-glass windows, the guests, or hear the music. She saw only him.

Marius felt like he was living his dream. A dream that could not happen to him, and a dream that he did not deserve. But he knew that it wasn't a dream. Cosette really was walking toward him (_much too slowly_, he thought). When she finally reached the alter, she paused. His grandfather lifted the veil from her face and kissed her cheek. Marius saw her father do the same, and squeeze her hand before helping her up the steps. Marius couldn't help it, he descended the steps from the alter and met them halfway. Cosette smiled at him, and he smiled back. He offered her his hand, and she clasped it eagerly as they made their way up to the alter.

The vows were simple and to the point, and only of thing had happened less-than-perfectly.

The minister had begun the last vow, right before Cosette was supposed to sign the wedding contract. "And do you, Mademoiselle Fauchelevent-"

"I do!" she said, too early. Marius smiled as she blushed red with embarrassment. Marius squeezed her hand, and the minister continued.

"And do you, Mademoiselle Fauchelevent, take Monsieur Pontmercy to be your loftily wedded husband?"

She took a breath. "I do," she said articulately. She picked up the pen and signed her name on the contract carefully.

"Then I now pronounce you Monsieur and Madame Pontmercy, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."

Cosette got the most lovable dreamy look in her eyes upon hearing that, and Marius gently took her chin in his hand and kissed her lightly. She felt a rush of blood go straight to her cheeks, but not from embarrassment. The music started playing again, and they made their way out of the church, scarcely daring to believe what had just happened. Cosette looked around at everything around her, as though she was afraid of waking up.

They arrived back at the house for the party and dinner. Cosette and Marius remained together as much as possible, which was unfortunately not much. Everyone wanted to talk to them and congratulate them. When they were together, someone was always talking to them. Nevertheless, they were in the deepest felicity. The wedding guests who did not know Cosette admired both her beauty and her kind, graceful demeanor. There was a little dancing, and Marius and Cosette danced first together. Her dress was short sleeved, and she was not wearing a corset. She saw Marius looking at her, with a look on his face that she had never seen before, a look of admiration and wonder. She couldn't tell if it embarrassed her or excited her. Maybe it was both. Soon they were swept apart. Grandfather and Cosette danced and she laughed as he made overdramatic statements about her loveliness and how the goddesses were jealous today. She looked over at Marius and had to restrain a smile. He was dancing with Aunt Gillenormond, and they both looked fairly miserable (though Aunt Gillenormond usually looked miserable). Then she danced with her father, and one of Marius' cousins, and then so many people that she lost count. Finally it was time for dinner.

The party was moved into the dining room, with the table elongated and set for all the guests. She was to sit at the head between grandfather Gillenormond and her father. But her father was not there. He had left without saying goodbye. How could he do that? She was no stranger to her father's peculiarities, but this one struck her like a blow. She was beside herself, and, though she told herself not to let anything upset her today, she felt a few tears come to her eyes. When grandfather perceived her father's absence, he carefully looked down at Cosette. When he saw the upset look on her face, he delicately maneuvered the seating arrangements so that Marius would sit next to Cosette. She instantly perked up.

When he sat down, she put her little foot upon his, and their knees touched. They exchanged a glance, and Marius was about to say something when grandfather started to make a speech, and conversation became impossible.

When he was done, conversation became to slowly prattle about the table. Dinner was brought around by some temporary hired servants for the occasion. A woman nearby was talking to Cosette, but soon the man next to the woman distracted her. Grandfather was talking to himself, and Marius and Cosette were at last able to speak to each other without interruption.

"Are you alright?" Marius asked her, knowing how her father leaving the party like that would hurt her.

"I'm fine now," she answered truthfully. "His hand was hurting him, I presume," she said, and she looked down at her plate. Then she looked back up at Marius and smiled at him. "So I haven't spoken to you for the last thirty minutes. What is new?"

"Well, I'm married," he answered, and she giggled.

"Well, what a coincidence, me too!" she exclaimed.

"And I have barely seen my wife- but she's here now, so it's alright," he amended.

"She must be a lucky woman."

"Not as lucky as your husband."

They continued talking like this, with sweet phrases that meant nothing to anyone else, until grandfather wanted to introduce Cosette to someone across the table.

Once they were left to talking again, Cosette and Marius started talking about the party. Neither of them actually knew most of the people here, and they amused themselves by making quiet comments about them. Cosette forgot how hard she could laugh with Marius; it was difficult to talk so easily with him when her father and his grandfather around. Now, the room was so full that they had no chance of being overheard.

Dessert was served, and there were so many choices that Cosette let out a little gasp.

She took some chocolate, being very partial to it, and enjoyed it immensely. Marius took something different.

"Here, Cosette, try some of this, it's delicious," he said.

She nodded and looked for some more, but there wasn't any. "It's all gone! Oh, well…"

"Just have some of mine," he pushed his plate to her, and she hesitated, but then picked up his fork and took a bite. It _was _good. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye and thought again about that night, and her stomach flipped. She stole another look at him, and he saw her looking. He returned her gaze and smiled warmly. All of a sudden she was not nervous, but eager to be alone with him. She bit her lip as she felt her neck and cheeks coloring, but didn't look down. Something else inside her was changing, and the very pit of her stomach was tightening, and she felt a pleasant ache fill her. He was looking at her just as deeply, and she could tell that now they were both only waiting for an acceptable time to leave the room.

After dessert, people lingered at the table for awhile talking idly. Eventually, some people went out into the living room, while some stayed in the dining room. Cosette and Marius made some rounds again, talking to as many people as they could. Cosette's feet were aching now from a whole day standing in high heels, and they were both tired. She tired to cover up a huge yawn, but it didn't work very well, and her eyes were watering.

"Tired?" Marius asked. She nodded, looking at him, then carefully looked at the room around her. The clock struck midnight.

"Do you want to go?" For the entire night, Marius had been looking at her captivating bare arms, and he couldn't stop wondering if they were as soft as they looked. He gently touched her upper arm and a thrill ran through them both. _No, they were definitely softer._ He couldn't help noticing the lace on her dress was not as thick as the bodices she usually wore, and his eyes lingered on her elegant form. Her resulting blush made raspberries look pale. He wanted to kiss her again, and felt anger at the way weddings were held. It was as though he and Cosette were supposed to pledge everything to each other, but only do it in private. He didn't understand why people at the party couldn't just bear the sight of a husband kissing his wife. But that was the way things were, and he just sighed, waiting for her answer.

She realized that if they left the room now, everyone would think they were just going into the dining room to see the other guests. This was perfect. They could leave without having to waste time saying goodbye to everyone. She smiled, and nodded again at him. He reached for her hand and led her into the entrance hall.

They had barely made it up half the stairs without falling into each others arms. They kissed for the fourth time in their lives, and Cosette teetered a little. Marius caught her in his arms, smiling.

They made it upstairs and around the corner into the hallway where their new bedroom was located, but not into it. They started kissing again, and Marius put his hands on her shoulders. She put a hand behind his neck and another one on his back, and gently stepped back. Marius pushed her lightly against the wall and leaned over her. She was feeling a sort of shock run through her body every time his lips moved against hers, and her heart was beating fast in her chest. She heard him sigh, and she felt her heart skip a beat. Soon, though, she realized that she wouldn't be able to stop…

"Wait- Marius…" she tried, she could barely find her voice. She reluctantly withdrew her arms from around him and pushed lightly against his chest. He pulled back just as reluctantly, but not very far. Their noses were still touching. "We're not alone yet, love… anyone can come up here."

Marius grimaced, and then smiled. "I don't care," he said, but gently. Then pulled back completely and reached for her hand. She beamed at him.

_It's my wedding night! _She thought in disbelief. She watched as Marius' hand hesitated on the door handle, and then opened it. He led her inside and closed the door with his foot. He hesitated again before locking it.

Cosette stood waiting, and then embraced him. "Much better," she said softly before meeting his lips with hers again.


	4. Together, Finally

Two hours later, Cosette was wondering how she could have possibly been nervous. She was lying on the bed, with Marius' head on her stomach. She was gently stroking the hair on his forehead, and she was trying to get him to tell her something. In the Rue Plumet, months and months ago, Marius had told her about wanting to break an invalid's bones. She couldn't imagine Marius ever wanting to hurt some old man, but he would not tell her why he thought that, no matter how she had begged him. Now, she was arguing that it obviously had something to do with her, so he should certainly tell her.

"Marius!" she giggled softly. "I _know _it was about me… what happened?"

"Nothing… alright, not nothing. And it did have to do with you. Do you remember that day when I glared at you?" She did. "So that was the day the wind blew and… well, the wind blew your skirts all the way up to your garters…" Cosette knew why Marius couldn't bring himself to tell her about this before now. She smiled, thinking about how shy he was, even with her. "And so this old man appeared right after that and _winked _at me! He _winked at me! _And for all I know he had seen! And I was so angry… and well, especially then, when I was ready to be jealous of my own shadow… Silly, to be jealous, when I hadn't even spoken to you!"

"Ah, it's alright," she cooed, and ran her finger softly down the scar on his shoulder that she had seen only a few hours ago. He had been ashamed, and tried to hide it, but she wouldn't let him. She had been prepared for this- after all, she knew all about his injuries- but she knew she wouldn't be disgusted or afraid; she was right in knowing that no matter what she would find Marius beautiful. She was, however, afraid of how seeing him covered with scars would make her feel. She hadn't been properly prepared, however. Upon seeing the long scar, she had become fiercely angry at the man who had shot him; if the man had been there Cosette would have happily clawed at his face. She had never had violent thoughts in her life, but this was unlike anything she had ever felt. She told Marius this, and he just pulled her to him again and kissed her deeply.

She smiled, reliving the past two hours for the thousandth time that night.

After they arrived in their new room, they kissed for a few minutes, both delighting too much in their alone time to think about anything else. Their inexperience kept them from moving too fast or even moving beyond kissing. When their tongues touched for the first time, and Cosette let out something like a mix between a gasp and a moan. Marius felt a shiver run up and down his spine. All the sudden, Cosette pushed him away, gasping for breath.

"I… can't… breathe!" she said, laughing. She leaned her head against his chest, but again jumped up. "Ouch!"

"What?!" Marius asked her.

"This stupid crown of flowers I had to wear. It looks pretty, but really… it was poking into my head all day." Marius laughed. She walked over to the mirror and started pulling the headpiece from her hair. At last it came out, and Cosette unwove the small braids that were woven into her hair. Finally she shook her hair out. "Ahh… that feels so much better." Her hair, now completely down, fell in chestnut waves down to the middle of her back. Marius wrapped his arms around her middle from behind and buried his face in her hair, smelling her sweet scent. She leaned back and sighed, feeling their bodies touch and reveling in the magic of it all.

She looked up at him. "Umm… Maybe I should just… take care of all this now?" she asked nervously, gesturing to her enormous gown. She knew she could have just resumed kissing him and they would have undressed each other, but she needed a few minutes of mental preparation before she moved on to anything more serious. Also, some of her undergarments were fussy and difficult and would complicate things. _Anything to make it a bit easier,_ she thought.

"Alright," Marius answered, his heart picking up speed. She turned and he heard her rummaging in the wardrobe (her things had been brought over this morning) before going into the bathroom attached to the room.

Feeling hot, Marius removed his coat, boots, socks, and cravat and put them away. He stretched and lay down on the bed, feeling his muscles relax and confort washing over him. Concentrating on not falling asleep, he listened to the music down on the streets continuing from the Mardi gras celebrations. Then he heard Cosette softly singing from inside the bathroom, and listened to that instead.

Meanwhile, Cosette was gaining back a few of those qualms she had felt before. Now undressed, she looked at herself in the mirror. Cosette was very pretty; she was a very well-proportioned woman, and relatively small. She had full, but not fat, thighs, a thin stomach, and small breasts. She had never given her body much thought; she had always accepted what she looked like. However, looking at herself now and knowing that in an hour Marius would have touched all these places made her heart race in trepidation. Delicately and innocently, she ran her hands over her body, now seeing it in a different light. She tried to imagine what Marius saw when he looked at her, and couldn't. But when she thought of him, she knew that she wouldn't mind seeing _him _undressed. That must be how he thought of her! It put more perspective on things. But she still felt nervous at having her see her every insecurity... She shook the thought from her mind, and put on her prettiest nightgown. She hesitated, but then thought: _For goodness' sake, Cosette, it's_ Marius _out there! Don't be a coward! Whe else could you trust enough? If you stay in here, you'll hurt him. And you want to be his wife more than anything. _She opened the door.

The sight of him lounging on the bed made her heart skip several beats. She felt heat rise up, and she knew that he could see her blush on her chest and neck, but she didn't care. His collar was loose and his hair was flopped over his forehead, his eyes deep and warm. He stared at her as though she was the only thing in the world, and she stared right back. Patting the bed next to him, she gestured for her to join him. She cuddled up to him, but their lips did not meet.

"You are so beautiful," he said, his finger stroking her jawline. He hesitated, but then asked the question he was dying to know. "Are you nervous?"

She blushed, averted her eyes, and nodded. "A little. Not as nervous as I was last night. Everything I worried about seems silly now."

He sighed, relieved that she wasn't too nervous, but it gave him comfort that she was at least a little nervous. "Good. I'm glad... because I'm nervous too," he said.

She smiled. Knowing he was nervous made her feel much more comfortable. But it seemed needless now, and stupid.

They fell silent, and slowly their lips met. Their kissed grew more and more passionate, and soon both of them were exploring each other, discovering something brand-new and something wonderful.

It was true, it had hurt a little. Marius had told her beforehand that if she wanted to stop, she had to tell him, and he promised he would. But she hadn't wanted to stop for one moment, not even after she had gasped upon feeling the sharp pain, more intense than she had been prepared for. Marius had frozen, and asked her if she was alright, and she waited a moment so her answer would be true. She then nodded and kissed him again. The pain had dulled after some time, and she had been fine.

Afterwards she lay in his arms, and neither spoke for a long time. Marius had realized then what he had been missing. This physical love that they both shared had only deepened the emotional bond between them. Everything had turned out alright, he knew, and he was quite dumb for thinking that Cosette was going to laugh at him. He had wanted to make love to her for a long time, ever since the barricades, but he hadn't expected this. He knew then that, now that he had something this incredible with Cosette, he couldn't ever have another woman. It wasn't Heaven, he had been told, but he had reason to believe that he could argue. Just having Cosette in his arms like this was bliss.

Gradually they started to talk, and she had began talking about how she had coped when he was sick.

"Sometimes I felt like I had no hope at all. I felt like I was betraying you and losing faith in God by thinking that, but I couldn't help it. Your grandfather daren't even hope. We were all just praying... but I feared that it would do no good. And I couldn't sleep at all! I wouldn't let myself. I had terrible dreams." She shook her head, remembering. "Dreams that I was there watching you die, but I couldn't do anything. And sometimes," she blushed, "I had even more torturous dreams. I had _wonderful_ dreams. You were alive, and we were together, holding each other, and..." she gestured to his body, and hers, and he understood. "But then I'd wake and remember what was really happening to you. It was times like that when I questioned my faith. And I _hated_ that I did that, and yet I couldn't see any reason not to. But finally I found a way to make myself feel better."

She sat up. "Where are you going?" Marius asked, reaching out to her, but she just flashed him a smile and slipped into his shirt, rolling up the sleeves and buttoning two buttons. She swung her tiny feet over the side of the bed and walked over to the wardrobe, reaching inside of it and pulling out a jewelery box from the top shelf. He couldn't see what she pulled out of it, and she tucked it into the pocket of the shirt before running back and diving into the bed next to him, giggling as the bed threw her up and down. She snuggled in closer to him and pulled out a familiar notebook from the pocket of the shirt.

"When I was sick, I would read and reread your letter," she said, opening the notebook and leafing through the pages and pages covered in his own handwriting. The words he had written in a lovesick passion over months of her absence, over a year ago. "And I would imagine you next to me. I could hear your voice saying the words," she closed her eyes, "and writing them onto the page... Then I would be calm enough to sleep." She looked up at him, her eyes wide. "You know..." she began.

"What is it, _ma cherie?"_

She blushed at the endearment and he ruffled her hair. "I've actually never heard you read this. I've only imagined it so many times."

He knew what was coming now, and it was his turn to be embarrassed. True, he had meant every word on that page. But they sounded poetic and romantic when read silently, but he was confident that when he read them aloud they would sound silly and awkward.

"Cosette..."

"Please, Marius? Will you read this to me now?" she asked, her eyes beseeching. He sighed, unable to say no. He took the letter from her, and opened it up. With it, all of the emotions he had felt in writing it came flooding back, and he felt all the more lucky to be where he was right then.

He started out quietly, embarrassed, but when she didn't say anything and just lay her head upon his chest, he began reading more confidently. She just listened to his voice say the familiar words she had long ago memorized and felt the vibrations his voice made when her ear was pressed against him.

Soon she began saying the words along with him, until they had reached the last thought on the page.

"Thank you," she whispered.

The continued talking, saying all the things they had been to embarrassed to say before, too unsure of themselves or too pressured by the boundaries they felt. Soon hours had passed and they hadn't even noticed.

He rose up and lay next to her, his head on the same pillow. Cosette stretched her feet out as she yawned and placed her head between Marius' shoulder and the pillow. She sighed contentedly. Marius sat up softly and leaned over to blow out the candles. There was a fire going, and the embers were still glowing, but their eyes still had to adjust to the sudden darkness.

"Come here…"

"Hold on… I feel you, but where's your head?"

"Oh, there you are…" Cosette found Marius' lips and kissed them. "I'm not ready to sleep yet," she murmured.

They continued kissing softly, and their kisses turned into light touches, which turned into caresses and strokes. They made love again, and then Cosette fell asleep with her head on Marius' chest, a small smile on her face. Marius lay awake for a few minutes looking at her, and then he, too, fell asleep.


	5. The Next Morning

On the morning after their wedding, Cosette woke early with the sun on her face. Before she opened her eyes, she pictured the room she would awaken in: her small white bed, the tiny room, and the window looking out to see just a brick wall. But then she felt the mattress move, and all the memories from the night before came flooding back. She would not awaken in her room in the rue de l'Homme de Arme, she would awaken in Marius' house in the Marais.

She opened her eyes and took in the less familiar surroundings. She smiled in utter happiness and rolled over her husband. Marius was asleep next to her, his head resting on his right arm, his lips parted slightly, and his eyes closed. She propped herself up onto her elbow, just to look at him.

She realized again that any worries she had had been silly. Really! It had been simple, beautiful, and she hadn't been embarassed at all. But she blushed at the thought of what had happened later that night, after they both had already fallen asleep.

_It was dark. It was cold, and there was a voice inside of her, whispering. "No one is here... no one. Your father left. Your mother left. Marius is not here. There is no one!" Then a cold laugh erupted from the whispering voice, getting louder and louder until she jerked awake._

_"Marius!" she cried, knowing he would not be there. "Marius!" She was almost screaming, and tears were wet on her cheeks._

_He awoke, hearing her cry out his name._

_"Cosette?"_

_"Marius..." she sobbed, throwing her arms around his chest. "I thought I'd never see you again..."_

_He was confused, and rightly so, until he realized she must be dreaming still. "Shh..." He rocked back and forth until she into a restful sleep. _

She remembered waking several more times after that, and feeling Marius' arms around her, his hands soothingly rubbing circles on her back. She hoped she hadn't kept him awake all night. When they fell asleep at first, it was already almost four in the morning. She looked at the clock: it was almost nine now. She wasn't ready to get up, but she didn't want to wake Marius. Instead she just lay back down and pulled the blanket over her. She was about to close her eyes when she saw Marius' flutter open.

"Good morning," she whispered, leaning in to kiss him softly.

He smiled against her lips and kissed her back, turning over so that she was laying on top of him before he pulled away.

"Were you awake all night?" She asked, looking closely at his face, searching for signs that he hadn't slept all night.

"Just until the sun came up... and you stopped snoring," he smiled up at her.

"I don't snore," she said confidently.

"Of course not. Not that you would know. You were asleep." He laughed at her, and she could feel his chest moving up and down underneath her. She exhaled.

"Sorry I got so upset last night... Dreams got the better of me," she whispered, still embarrassed. He stopped laughing and looked at her seriously, taking her chin in one hand.

"It's perfectly alright. Are you feeling better now?"

"I'm feeling much better. In fact," she leaned down and kissed him. "I'm feeling very, very happy..."

He cocked one eyebrow.

"I _hate_ how you can do that!" she pouted. He kissed her.

"You are very pretty this morning, Cosette."

"Am I?" She tossed her hair behind her shoulder and gave him her best 'pretty' expression, before rolling off of him and laying turned away. He couldn't see her face, but she was smiling to herself.

He frowned at her back. "Stop that. That's mean." Rolling to meet her, he put an arm around her waist and kissed the side of her face that was visible to him.

She rolled back over and kissed him back. "It only nine now, my darling... We have hours until they expect us downstairs."

She didn't need to say it twice.


	6. Playfulness

**Hey guys. For some reason, I just can't finish this story. Call me obsessed, but... well, I'm obsessed. I have no argument. They're too adorable. So yes, this is an unnecessary chapter, but I wanted to write it. :)**

**I was just rereading parts of the book last night, and saw something about laughter on Marius' lips. I wanted to know what Cosette did to make him laugh. I'm a sap, I know, and had to write something about it.**

* * *

When Marius woke again, it was past noon, and Cosette was still fast asleep beside him. With a feeling of contentment and absolute fulfillment, he looked at her sleeping sweetly beside him and allowed himself to relive the events of the past night. Then the knock on the door intruded into his beautiful bubble of happiness.

He thought about ignoring it, but when another knock sounded, he decided that wasn't the best option. He carefully stepped out of bed so as not to disturb Cosette and put on a dressing gown before opening the door a crack. Basque stood there, and Marius had never been less happy to see him. Apologetically and, truth be told, embarrassed, he told Marius that he had a visitor awaiting him downstairs.

"Who?" he said curtly. If someone was disturbing him today, he'd sure as hell better be damn important.

"He wished to remain anonymous. He wants his visit to be a surprise."

Marius rolled his eyes, but said he'd be downstairs soon. He closed the door and looked sulkily back to the bed, where he saw Cosette sitting up, sleep in her eyes, her hair tousled, holding the blankets around her bare shoulders against the cold.

"The angel awakens," he remarked, marveling, and she held out her arms for him to come back and join her. He couldn't resist the temptation, and he sat back on the bed and wrapped his arms around her as she clung to him.

"What did he want?" she asked distractedly, busy kissing his chin, cheeks, neck.

"He says someone is downstairs and wants to see me," he said dreadfully.

She pouted. "You're not going, are you?"

He sighed- he didn't want to. "Someone is waiting for me. He wants me downstairs."

"And _I_ want you here," she said impishly, raising her eyebrows at him. "And surely what I want counts for more than just anyone who stops by to visit?"

He had to smile at her logic. "How right you are. But you've had me for the past twelve hours-"

"And that is still not enough," she said. "Twelve years is not enough," she whispered, kissing him and holding him tightly by the arms, trying to pull him to lay down with her.

"Then be glad we have the rest of our lives," he declared, brightening at the thought. It gave him hope and ecstasy. But he maneuvered himself ruefully away, standing up and gaining a few feet away from Cosette. He laughed aloud when he realized he could not get away completely- she held his hand between both her own, pulling on him, intent on not letting him get away from her grasp.

"I've got a hold on you, monsieur. You are not going nowhere without my permission," she ordered, her face filled with light as she tried to look serious and full of authority. She was adorable. He laughed again- everything seemed happy to him, wonderful, and hilarious, and he couldn't keep the smile off his face. He felt as if he was the only man in the world, the happiest, the most fortunate.

"I shall do whatever you wish. I lay at your feet... madame la baronne," he finished, and she smiled at the title. "You have me captured by the heartstrings, and I am bewitched. I beg for your permission to let me go, for you know I will not go far. I cannot be gone long, for you have a hold on me impossible to break."

She thought, a very pondorous look on her face as she overdramatically considered his request. Finally, she graciously sighed and loosened the grip on his hand.

"I suppose if you must, but only if you promise to return your attention to me later today. And you shall not leave without a payment."

"A payment?" he inquired, smiling mischievously and wickedly, leaning down over her, half a smile on his lips.

She pursed her lips, drawing the blankets around herself. "Monsieur, if you are going to be bad, I think I shall just have to let you go for free." Then, she turned away haughtily, but he could see her shoulders shaking with laughter. Her beautiful, smooth, pale shoulders...

"Madame!" he said, begging. "Please, let me back in your good graces. I cannot leave knowing I have disappointed you. As I said, I am at your feet. You are a goddess, and I am nothing but a mere man. You are beautiful, good and gracious, and I forever worship you. Please allow this subservient, inferior disciple of yours to fulfill his earthly duties, and see that blasted man downstairs."

She sighed again, turning to face him. "When you use pretty words like that, I am left with no choice but to do as you wish. But on one condition: one kiss," she said, drawing his hand down and wrapping it around her waist; he was glad to comply. Before he drew himself up, she whispered into his ear: "And you are not subservient or inferior, for I am just as bewitched as you. You just spend too much time being wonderful to allow me to show you."

When he rose up, his eyes were wide with enchantment, and then the mischievous look crossed them again. She laughed allowed, shoving him lightly.

"Now go, before I start to miss you! Go!"

Laughing, he did as he was told and began making his way to the door.

"Marius?" she whispered. He turned, expecting her enchanting look again. Instead he found her smirking. "I don't think our visitor is too keen to see you in your dressing gown. You may want to consider a change of attire."

He blushed furiously as she giggled, and he went to fetch some more appropriate clothing from the bureau.

"As for me? I'm going back to sleep, for no one downstairs wants to see _me_, and _you_ kept me up quite late."

And with that, she curled back into the blankets and was silent. It was like a bird had awoken, sang and filled the room with its sweet chatter, and then just as quickly fell silent. Try as he might, Marius could not remove the smile, laughter, and light from his face when he made his way downstairs. It earned him knowing looks from the servants, but why should he care? Why _shouldn't_ he be happy?

Then, he entered the room and saw Monsieur Fauchelevent. Awkwardness overtook him, but it was still not enough to entirely mask his happiness. It was, however, enough to wipe any less-than-wholesome thoughts of Cosette from his mind.

It wasn't until this phrase that this fire- the fire of triumph, happiness, and infallibility- was smothered a little:

"I am an ex-convict."

With that, shock masked everything else.


End file.
